Centrepoint, the country’s leading youth homelessness charity, are asking people to sleep out for homeless young people.
This February 2023 the charity is challenging people across the UK to swap their beds for sleeping bags, for one night only to raise funds for vulnerable young people.
Alongside inviting the public to ‘Hold Your Own Sleep Out’, the charity are hosting a special Sleep Out event at The Oval Cricket Ground, Kennington, South London on Friday 24th February. Participants should expect to hear about Centrepoint’s work from front-line staff members and celebrate their brilliant efforts with fellow fundraisers before braving a night in the cold.
Centrepoint is now asking members of the public to help raise money, to enable the charity to carry on it’s vital work, as vulnerable young people try to navigate the cost-of-living crisis.
For anyone who can’t make it down to London, the charity is tasking people to hold their own Sleep Out between the 20th and 26th of February.
Adele Atiyah, Mass Participation and Events Manager at Centrepoint, said:
“We can’t wait to host our first Sleep Out open to the general public since before the pandemic began. Now is as good a time as ever, as it’s such a dangerous time for young vulnerable people who are going cold and hungry.
“That is why we need as many people involved as possible – either joining us at a special night at The Oval, or holding their own Sleep Outs. However they choose to take part, we want people to come together and show that homeless young people have not been forgotten about by us.”
The London Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) statistics revealed that 297 people had been sleeping rough in London, from October to December 2022, this is a 29% increase compared to the same period the previous year. The charity expects these figures are increasing due to the cost-of-living crisis.
The money raised from Centrepoint’s Sleep Out events provides homeless young people safe and stable accommodation and specialist support for their physical and mental health, as well as assistance in accessing training, education and employment.
To find out more about the Sleep Out at The Oval and to hold your own Sleep Out visit https://centrepoint.org.uk/get-involved/sleep-out/
